President Barack Obama gave these remarks on March 7, 2015, at an event commemorating the protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. He discussed the history of civil rights protests, the passing of the Voting Rights Act, and progress and ongoing challenges in the fight for equal rights and opportunity in the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Kerry gave remarks at the twenty-eighth session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) on March 2, 2015. He discussed human rights issues around the world and the number of resolutions regarding Israel's human rights record.

Instability in Bahrain has grown in recent years as the Sunni royal family has repressed rather than accommodated the desire of the majority Shia population for a role in the political life of the country, but the White House reaction is silence. Elliott Abrams tells the story in a new article in Foreign Policy.

William Schabas has recused himself from his post as head of the UN Human Rights Council’s investigation into the Israeli operation in Gaza in 2014. In an article for Newsweek, Elliott Abrams explains why this happened too late to prevent a miscarriage of justice.

The Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) prepares mid-year reports on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Afghanistan, as mandated by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2096 (2013), which "recognizes the importance of ongoing monitoring and reporting to the United Nations Security Council on the situation of civilians in Afghanistan's armed conflict and in particular on civilian casualties."

Following last weeks near simultaneous release of torture reports in Brazil and the United States, Julia Sweig reflects in her column on the similarities and differences between the two documents, including the shared matter of impunity.

Fatou Bensouda, prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), joins David J. Scheffer, the secretary-general's special expert on UN assistance to the Khmer Rouge trials at the United Nations, to discuss the ICC’s policy and protocol in investigating and prosecuting sexual and gender-based crimes.

Fatou Bensouda, prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), joins David J. Scheffer, the secretary-general's special expert on UN assistance to the Khmer Rouge trials at the United Nations, to discuss the ICC’s policy and protocol in investigating and prosecuting sexual and gender-based crimes.

Fatou Bensouda, prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), joins David J. Scheffer, the secretary-general's special expert on UN assistance to the Khmer Rouge trials at the United Nations, to discuss the ICC’s policy and protocol in investigating and prosecuting sexual and gender-based crimes.

As civil war in Syria inches toward its four-year anniversary, the nation’s humanitarian catastrophe deepens. Some 7.6 million Syrians are now internally displaced, and another 3.3 million have fled to neighboring countries to avoid the complex three-way dogfight among Assad’s forces, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and Syrian rebels.

Mark P. Lagon, CFR's adjunct senior fellow for human rights, discusses the role that multilateral institutions can play in advancing human rights and human dignity, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Mark P. Lagon, CFR's adjunct senior fellow for human rights, discusses the role that multilateral institutions can play in advancing human rights and human dignity, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Michael Kirby, former chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in North Korea, discusses the commission's recommendations for addressing systematic crimes against humanity in North Korea, including religious repression.

CFR Experts Guide

The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.

New Council Special Reports

Campbell evaluates the implications of the Boko Haram insurgency and recommends that the United States support Nigerian efforts to address the drivers of Boko Haram, such as poverty and corruption, and to foster stronger ties with Nigerian civil society.

Koblentz argues that the United States should work with other nuclear-armed states to manage threats to nuclear stability in the near term and establish processes for multilateral arms control efforts over the longer term.

The authors argue that it is essential to begin working now to expand and establish rules and norms governing armed drones, thereby creating standards of behavior that other countries will be more likely to follow.

2014 Annual Report

Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2014 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.Read and download »